The present invention relates to beverage preparation devices. In particular, the invention relates to a device configured for heating and frothing dairy liquids such as milk.
Many popular beverages such as cappuccino are made with frothed milk. One known method of producing milk froth is to aerate the milk with a combination of steam and air. This has traditionally been accomplished by having a skilled operator maneuver the end of a steam dispensing tube at the surface of milk in a container so as to force mixture of the milk and steam with the surrounding air. Accordingly, the amount and character of froth has previously been limited by the skill of the operator.
Some steam tubes have been outfitted with air-dispensing units. These tubes may be able to produce milk froth below the surface of milk because air is drawn below the surface. However, the amount and character of froth produced with such tubes has been inconsistent due to the mechanism through which such tubes typically apply steam and air to the milk.
Some steam tubes have also been less than optimal because the operator is forced to carefully monitor the temperature of the milk being frothed with no accurate method for doing so. This may distract him/her from the primary task of frothing the milk.
A device for heating and frothing a beverage, the device including an elongate frothing wand that includes a generally tubular external sleeve, an inner core within the external sleeve, wherein the inner core defines a steam conduit configured to pass steam from a supply end of the frothing wand to an expulsion end of the frothing wand, a steam-discharge ring in fluid communication with the steam conduit and configured to eject steam into the beverage, an annular airway defined by the external sleeve and the inner core, wherein the airway is configured to draw air from the supply end to the expulsion end of the frothing wand, and an air-discharge ring in fluid communication with the airway and concentrically aligned with the steam-discharge ring, wherein the air-discharge ring is configured to direct air into the beverage upon ejection of steam from the steam-discharge ring.